Seimone Augustus, DeLisha Milton-Jones and Diana Taurasi are among the U.S. Olympians looking to avenge the 2006 World Championship loss.

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Their winning streak stood at 26 games dating back a total of 12 years. They had
won 50 straight decisions overall in Olympic and World Championship competition.

But the USA women's team was upset by Russia 75-68 in the semifinals of the
Worlds two years ago in Brazil. And though Anne Donovan's squad rebounded to
win bronze, the loss stung for every member of the delegation.

"When you wear the USA jersey, a lot is expected," said U.S. point
guard Sue Bird. "You're supposed to win gold medals, so to miss out on
an opportunity to do that was just very, very disappointing."

"It was protocol to go up there and get it," said Tina Thompson,
the Americans' leading scorer in Brazil, of the bronze medal she and her teammates
won a day later, "but I didn't want it. I honestly have no idea where that
medal is. I respect what it stands for, but I only like gold medals.

"We honestly don't ever expect to lose," Thompson continued. "When
we do, it sucks really bad. I don't know any other way to describe it. It leaves
a really, really bad taste in our mouths and feeling in our stomachs."

"And whether or not we were on that World Championship roster, we've all
experienced something close to that over the past four years. We've all lost
more games as a group than we had in a long time."

Following the disappointing result in the Worlds, the USA also dropped games
in the FIBA World League Tournament and the Good Luck Beijing tourney in April.

"I think that the rest of the world gained a lot of confidence when they saw
that we could lose," said Candace Parker, a member of the 2006 World Championship
squad. "'Wow, the United States lost.' Now they think they have a way in."

And that perception of the Americans falling from grace on the international
basketball stage is something the 2008 Olympic squad wanted to quash in Beijing.
Quickly.

With five straight opening round wins in Beijing by an average of 43 points
per game, and Tuesday's 104-60 thrashing of South Korea, it's fair to say the
U.S. women have been up to the task so far. But they're far from satisfied.

"Our goal here is to win a gold medal," said Thompson. "That's
the only reason why we're here. We want to end up
repeating for that gold medal at the end of this tournament."

And to get there, several members of the U.S. team are willing to admit that
revenge and redemption may be part of the mindset.

"We lost to Russia. That's pretty much been the (motivation) all along,"
said Bird. "I definitely remember what it felt like.

"It's tough for us to even have that one blemish on our record,"
concurred Lisa Leslie, a three-time Olympic gold medalist (1996, 2000, 2004),
one of the current USA players not on the World Championship roster.

"But it's actually good for us in a way because we'll continue to use
it as motivation. Maybe we're more hungry because of it. The last time we were
out on the floor competing in a big game, we lost. And now that we're back competing
on a big stage, that last loss is in the back of our minds."

"It's what fuels us," Bird went on to say. "Sometimes losses
turn out to be the biggest win in a lot of ways because you learn more from
them and they can really motivate you."

The return to the fray of U.S.
legend Lisa Leslie could pay dividends against Russia and Australia in the medal round.

Garrett Ellwood/NBAE/Getty Images

"That was a nice piece of humble pie," said Diana Taurasi,
the Americans' leading scorer in the loss to Russia. "I always say that
that was the best thing that could happen to us. We'd been riding a high for
so long... It shows you that any given night if you don't
bring your 'A' game, the world is good enough to beat you.

"That's the one thing
that's in the back of our minds: we're not the World Champions. We have to go
get it."

Some suggest that the rash of losses suffered by the U.S. women -- and men,
for that matter -- is simply a result of the improvement of other countries
around the world and the continued growth and spread of the sport.

And Coach Donovan -- a U.S. Olympian herself in 1980, 1984 and 1988 -- agreed that
Australia and Russia have narrowed the gap considerably in recent years.

"There is no doubt," Donovan told me before traveling to China. "If
you look back at the history, we've won the gold medal in the past three Olympics,
but the competition has gotten much closer. You go back to every Olympics, and
the games have gotten closer and closer in the medal round. And it's always
Russia, Australia, USA. We know that they are right there breathing down
our neck."

"We've beaten Brazil, we've beaten Australia, we've beaten China before,"
Leslie reminded me, "but the competition out there is getting better. We
can't take any game or any opponent for granted."

The U.S. certainly won't take Thursday's semifinal against Becky Hammon and
Russia lightly, hinting that there may even be an extra bit of motivation.

"We're going to come ready to play no matter who it is," said USA
veteran Katie Smith on Tuesday, "but especially (because) it's Russia.
There's no extra incentive needed except for the history
we have. I'm excited about putting ourselves in a place to get what we want...
which is a gold medal."

"There's no denying that we lost at the World Championships," Parker
said with a hint of obviousness. "Of course we weren't at full strength,
but we lost nonetheless. And we're gonna have to come out and play hard. Even
though the rest of the world is getting better, we still feel like we're the
best in the world."

It's difficult to argue with that sentiment so far in Beijing, but there are
still games to be played. And while the U.S. men have been nicknamed "the
Redeem Team," all indications are that there is a similar kind of pressure
on the U.S. women.

"Oh yeah, it's pressure packed," said USA assistant coach Dawn Staley,
another three-time Olympic gold medalist (1996, 2000, 2004). "(We) went
down to Brazil and we brought back a bronze medal. That is unacceptable to all
of us."

But Staley knows there's reason for optimism.

"Most women's USA Basketball teams rise to the occasion. We've pretty
much taken care of business. And when it's all said and done, we'll be able
to strap it up and bring home some gold medals."